Trust & Paperwork: Non-Competes

For a long time, I believed that trust mattered more than paperwork.

Early in my career, I joined a company that felt special.
The opportunity was exciting. The leadership team had real personal integrity. I trusted them completely.

So when I was asked to sign a very restrictive non-compete, I didn’t hesitate.

It said I couldn’t work for:

• Clients

• Lapsed clients

• Prospective clients

• Future prospects

Which, in practice, is… basically the entire world of companies.

Fast forward nearly 15 years.

The company was successful. I grew in title and responsibility.
But over time, the company was sold to Private Equity.
The leaders I trusted were long gone.
The culture changed. The values changed.

And I realized something uncomfortable:

I hadn’t signed that non-compete with people.
I had signed it with an entity that could be bought, sold, and fundamentally changed.

If I were asked to sign that same non-compete today, by that version of the company, I wouldn’t have done it.

But the problem was—I already had.

That experience reshaped how I think about non-competes entirely.

The lesson for me:
You don’t sign a non-compete with a boss you respect or a company you trust.
You sign it with a future version of that company you can’t predict.

Now, when I’m asked to sign a non-compete, I usually say no.
If it’s a deal-breaker, I negotiate.

Some things I now ask for (you may not get all of these, but you have to ask):

• A specific list of companies, not broad categories

• Severance that matches the length of the non-compete

• The non-compete applies only if I quit, not if I’m let go

• Geographic and role-based limits (where I actually worked, doing similar work)

• A clear definition of what a “competitor” actually is

• The agreement is void if there’s a change of control or a material change in my role

• A buy-out option, so the risk isn’t unlimited or undefined

Laws vary by state, and enforceability can change, but the risk is real even when enforcement is uncertain.

I still believe in trust.
I still believe most leaders act with good intentions.

But I no longer confuse trust with protection.

Curious how others approach this:
Have you ever signed something early in your career that you’d negotiate very differently today?

About Carter Cathey

Carter Cathey is a sales and revenue leader with more than 20 years of experience helping market research, technology, and private-equity-backed businesses scale revenue, improve operations, and build predictable growth systems.

Throughout his career, he has led sales transformation initiatives, pricing strategy projects, subscription business model transitions, operational redesign efforts, and commercial growth programs.

He writes about leadership, organizational design, business systems, data-driven decision making, and the challenges companies face as they scale.

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